Continuity of sleep problems from adolescence to young adulthood: results from a longitudinal study

Background: Considering the lack of evidence on incidence and continuity of sleep problems from adolescence to young adulthood, this study explores sleep problems’ incidence and their continuation rates from 14 to 21 years. Methods: Sleep data from the 14-year (n = 4,924) and 21-year (n = 3660) follow-up of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy cohort were used. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, and psychological conditions were explored for their role in sleep problems. Modified Poisson regression with a robust error variance was used to identify predictors. Inverse probability weights were used to account for attrition. Results: Of all subjects, 26.0% of the subjects at 14 years and 28.3% of the subjects at 21 years reported “often” sleep problems, with 41.7% of adolescent sleep problems persisting at 21 years. Perinatal and early-life maternal factors, for example, drug abuse (incidence rate ratio (IRR), 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.71), smoking, depression, and anxiety, were significant predictors of adolescent sleep problems. Female sex (IRR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.55-2.94), advanced pubertal stages, and smoking were the important predictors of sleep problems at 21 years. Adolescent depression/anxiety supported the continuity of sleep problems (IRR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.05-1.40), whereas exercise was seen to exert a protective effect. Conclusion: This study indicates high rates of sleep problems in young subjects, with around half of sleep problems originating in adolescence persisting in young adulthood. Therefore, early interventions are needed to manage sleep problems in young subjects and prevent further progression to other life stages. Future studies should explore if sleep problems in young adults also persist in later life stages and identify the factors supporting the continuity of sleep problems

Time trends, projections, and spatial distribution of low birthweight in Australia, 2009–2030: Evidence from the National Perinatal Data Collection

Introduction: Infants with low birthweight (LBW, birthweight <2500 g) have increased in many high-resource countries over the past two decades. This study aimed to investigate the time trends, projections, and spatial distribution of LBW in Australia, 2009–2030. Methods: We used standard aggregate data on 3 346 808 births from 2009 to 2019 from Australia's National Perinatal Data Collection. Bayesian linear regression model was used to estimate the trends in the prevalence of LBW in Australia. Results: We found that the prevalence of LBW was 6.18% in 2009, which has increased to 6.64% in 2019 (average annual rate of change, AARC = +0.76%). If the national trend remains the same, the projected prevalence of LBW in Australia will increase to 7.34% (95% uncertainty interval, UI = 6.99, 7.68) in 2030. Observing AARC across different subpopulations, the trend of LBW was stable among Indigenous mothers, whereas it increased among non-Indigenous mothers (AARC = +0.81%). There is also an increase among the most disadvantaged mothers (AARC = +1.08%), birthing people in either of two extreme age groups (AARC = +1.99% and +1.53% for <20 years and ≥40 years, respectively), and mothers who smoked during pregnancy (AARC = +1.52%). Spatiotemporal maps showed that some of the Statistical Area level 3 (SA3) in Northern Territory and Queensland had consistently higher prevalence for LBW than the national average from 2014 to 2019. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of LBW has increased in Australia during 2009–2019; however, the trends vary across different subpopulations. If trends persist, Australia will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target of a 30% reduction in LBW by 2030. Centering and supporting the most vulnerable subpopulations is vital to progress the SDGs and improves perinatal and infant health in Australia

Meeting Future Energy Needs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

As mentioned in earlier chapters, the HKH regions form the entirety of some countries, a major part of other countries, and a small percentage of yet others. Because of this, when we speak about meeting the energy needs of the HKH region we need to be clear that we are not necessarily talking about the countries that host the HKH, but the clearly delineated mountainous regions that form the HKH within these countries. It then immediately becomes clear that energy provisioning has to be done in a mountain context characterized by low densities of population, low incomes, dispersed populations, grossly underdeveloped markets, low capabilities, and poor economies of scale. In other words, the energy policies and strategies for the HKH region have to be specific to these mountain contexts

Renewable, ethical? Assessing the energy justice potential of renewable electricity

Energy justice is increasingly being used as a framework to conceptualize the impacts of energy decision making in more holistic ways and to consider the social implications in terms of existing ethical values. Similarly, renewable energy technologies are increasingly being promoted for their environmental and social benefits. However, little work has been done to systematically examine the extent to which, in what ways and in what contexts, renewable energy technologies can contribute to achieving energy justice. This paper assesses the potential of renewable electricity technologies to address energy justice in various global contexts via a systematic review of existing studies analyzed in terms of the principles and dimensions of energy justice. Based on publications including peer reviewed academic literature, books, and in some cases reports by government or international organizations, we assess renewable electricity technologies in both grid integrated and off-grid use contexts. We conduct our investigation through the rubric of the affirmative and prohibitive principles of energy justice and in terms of its temporal, geographic, socio-political, economic, and technological dimensions. Renewable electricity technology development has and continue to have different impacts in different social contexts, and by considering the different impacts explicitly across global contexts, including differences between rural and urban contexts, this paper contributes to identifying and understanding how, in what ways, and in what particular conditions and circumstances renewable electricity technologies may correspond with or work to promote energy justice

Exploring gender difference in sleep quality of young adults: findings from a large population study

Objectives: To explore if gender difference in sleep quality is due to higher prevalence of depression in females, and whether socio-demographic and lifestyle factors have a differential effect on sleep quality in males and females. Methods: Youth self-reports and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to assess sleep quality and associated risk factors. Logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the association between various risk factors and poor sleep quality. Results: Reports from 3,778 young adults (20.6±0.86 years) indicate a higher prevalence of poor sleep quality in females than males (65.1% vs. 49.8%). It seems that gender difference in poor sleep is independent of depression, socio-demographics, and lifestyle factors, since the higher odds of poor sleep quality in females was robust to adjust for depression, socio-demographics, and lifestyle factors (OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.23–1.90). Lifestyle factors (eg, smoking) (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.05–3.46) were associated with sleep quality in only males. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that female vulnerability to poor sleep quality should be explored beyond psycho-social disparities. Perhaps, exploring if the female predisposition to poor sleep quality originates at the biological level could lead to the answer

Exploring gender difference in sleep quality of young adults: Findings from a large population study

Objectives: To explore if gender difference in sleep quality is due to higher prevalence of depression in females, and whether socio-demographic and lifestyle factors have a differential effect on sleep quality in males and females. Methods: Youth self-reports and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to assess sleep quality and associated risk factors. Logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the association between various risk factors and poor sleep quality. Results: Reports from 3,778 young adults (20.6�0.86 years) indicate a higher prevalence of poor sleep quality in females than males (65.1% vs. 49.8%). It seems that gender difference in poor sleep is independent of depression, socio-demographics, and lifestyle factors, since the higher odds of poor sleep quality in females was robust to adjust for depression, socio-demographics, and lifestyle factors (OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.23-1.90). Lifestyle factors (eg, smoking) (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.05-3.46) were associated with sleep quality in only males. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that female vulnerability to poor sleep quality should be explored beyond psycho-social disparities. Perhaps, exploring if the female predisposition to poor sleep quality originates at the biological level could lead to the answer.The authors thank MUSP participants, the MUSP Research Team, the MUSP data collection teams, the Mater Misericordiae Hospital and the Schools of Social Science, Population Health, and Medicine at The University of Queensland for their support; and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).Scopu

L’intervento della Rete Mobile Real Time dell’INGV nell’emergenza sismica abruzzese

L’INTERVENTO DELLA RETE MOBILE REAL TIME DELL’INGV NELL’EMERGENZA SISMICA ABRUZZESE GIANPAOLO CECERE Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia sede Irpinia Il Centro Nazionale Terremoti (CNT) si avvale di una struttura di pronto intervento per la gestione delle emergenze sismiche (la Rete Mobile RealTime) che in tempi brevi interviene in area epicentrale con l’intento di migliorare la qualità del monitoraggio sismico. La mattina del 6 aprile 2009 la Rete Mobile RealTime, sviluppata e gestita dall’Osservatorio di Grottaminarda sede Irpinia, ha raggiunto l’area colpita dal terremoto aquilano per installare 9 stazioni sismiche (accelerometriche e simsometriche) in grado di inviare i dati in tempo reale al centro di acquisizione della Rete Sismica Nazionale a Roma. In tal modo è stato possibile migliorare la soglia di detezione dei segnali sismici e avere, quindi, a disposizione dati di fondamentale importanza per lo studio della sorgente sismica e della sequenza in atto. In questo lavoro sono descritte nel dettaglio le caratteristiche della Rete Mobile RealTime, le fasi di intervento del personale della sede Irpinia, (le tecniche per la repentina individuazione dei siti idonei all’istallazione, l’istallazione e configurazione della rete) e, infine, i primi risultati ottenuti grazie all’utilizzo dei dati raccolti

Generational changes in young adults’ sleep duration: a prospective analysis of mother–offspring dyads

Objective To quantify the changes in sleep duration over two generations of young adults. Methods We used data from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy cohort to compare sleep duration in mother and offspring. The analyses were restricted to 1,731 mothers who were young adults (mean age 21.96 years; SD±1.90) at the baseline measurement, and their offspring who were about the same age (mean age 20.6 years; SD±0.86) when assessed 21 years later. Maternal sleep was explored by asking the mother, during the first trimester, about her typical sleep duration prior to pregnancy, while offspring participants were asked about the sleep duration in the last month at the time assessed. Multinomial logistic regression for correlated responses was used to assess generational changes. Results We found that offspring had 3.2 (2.7, 3.9) times the odds of sleeping for short duration (≤6 hours/night) and 1.7 (1.5, 1.9) times the odds of sleeping for a longer duration (≥9 hours/night) compared with their mothers. Gender-based analysis found that daughters had 3.0 (2.3, 5.0) times the odds of sleeping for a short duration, while sons had 3.4 (2.6, 6.4) times the odds of sleeping for a short duration compared with their mothers. Conclusions There is a significant decline in sleep duration below recommendations as well as a substantial increase in long-duration above the recommendations over two generations of young adults. Therefore, the focus of sleep health should not be limited to short sleep, but on the need for achieving optimal sleep recommended for the age

Trajectories of dietary patterns from pregnancy to 12 years post-pregnancy and associated maternal characteristics:evidence from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Purpose: Dietary patterns (DPs) during pregnancy have been well researched. However, little is known about maternal diet after pregnancy. The aim of the study was to explore maternal DPs longitudinally, examine trajectories over 12 years after pregnancy and identify associated factors. Methods: Of 14,541 pregnant women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) complete dietary information was available for 5336 women. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to derive DPs. DP scores at each time point were used to create DP trajectories using group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM). Multinomial logistic regression assessed the association with maternal factors. Results: A total of six distinct DPs were identified over time with different numbers of DPs at each time point. The “healthy” and “processed” DPs persisted over the 12-year post-pregnancy. Three trajectories of “healthy” and “processed” DPs were identified from GBTM. Half the women were on the moderately healthy DP trajectory with 37% on the lower trajectory and 9% on the higher healthy DP trajectory. 59% of women were on the lower processed DP trajectory with 38% on the moderate trajectory and 3.3% on the higher processed DP trajectory. Low educational attainment, low social class and smoking in pregnancy were independently associated with being on a less favourable DP trajectory over the 12 years. Conclusion: Health professionals should provide support on smoking cessation along with healthy eating advice during ante-natal counselling. Continued support on eating healthily after pregnancy would be beneficial for mothers and families